The Nightmare Returns
by Elizabeth White
Summary: Sequel to Samantha A. Kirk. For years, many have wondered why Jim was so fit for Command and Sam was so adept at Engineering. The answer comes in the form of a relic stolen from the famine-stricken planet of Tarsus IV. An old nightmare has returned for the Kirks . . . will they survive the repercussions again?
1. Oh no

Standard disclaimers apply

* * *

Sam and Jim Kirk were known at the Academy for quite a few things.

Jim, the twin every one either ignored or ridiculed, was the rowdy twin that had zero to no sense of responsibility. When either incoming or current cadets heard that the elder twin was studying in the command track, the common reactions were disbelief and scoff. After all, how could a blockhead with such a low sense of duty be a good captain? There were even some of the Admirals in Starfleet that scoffed at the idea, despite Jim's stellar scores and genius level I.Q.

Sam, the female and younger of the twins, was the quiet twin that was over-protective and far too perceptive. Although it was widely known that Sam was pursuing the engineering track with a minor in xeno-linguistics, it was the assumption of many that the Kirk twins had gotten their tracks confused.

Both twins had lost count of how often they were told by both their colleges and their advisers that perhaps they would be more successful in the track their twin was pursuing. Before the Narada incident, no one in their right minds had realized that the twins knew exactly why they had chosen their specialties as Command and Engineering, respectively.

But it wasn't till midway through their third year of the five year mission aboard the Enterprise that the reason this was so came to light . . .

* * *

_Mid-way in the 3__rd__ year of the Enterprise's 5 year mission . . . _

"Sam," James T. Kirk's voice rang throughout the engineering deck as the Captain called for his twin over the communication system of the ship, "I need you and Scotty to come to the transporter room. We've found some delicate equipment that can't be transported to engineering. It was almost torn apart being brought aboard the ship." Sam, sensing the undertones in her twin's voice, asked through her personal communicator:

"Jim; is this equipment what I think it is?" In a solemn voice that Scotty had never heard from their Captain, Jim answered his sister:

"Why do you think I insisted that you remain has an engineer on the _Enterprise_? Besides me, you're the only person in Starfleet that could identify it." Speaking in a tone of voice Scotty had never heard from Sam before, she responded:

"Jim; in order to make sure I don't make assumptions on the devise, I need you to get my PADD and open the file marked '4-TAR-H.' I also need you to make sure that Spock is there. If he feels my distress through our mate-bond, he's sure to be knocking some heads." Sighing, Jim answered in a strangely weary voice:

"Sam; if this is what we both suspect it is, Spock won't be the only one knocking heads." Sam, in full S.A mode, said softly:

"J.T.; do yourself a favor and wait till it becomes necessary. I know you. If this machine is what we suspect, you'll not only become emotionally compromised, you may kill someone without realizing it." Jim, also in full J.T. mode, said:

"I know, S.A. That's why I'm counting on you to keep me in check."

* * *

_Transporter room, same day . . . _

Jim had waited till both Spock, his brother-in-law and First Officer, had arrived with Sam's PADD, after Sam with Scotty. Although Sam and Spock were, by all accounts, married, they still needed to keep up the pretense that they weren't emotionally involved. Although Jim had told the Admiralty about his new connection to Spock, his clout within Starfleet had allowed him to keep both Spock and Sam aboard the ship, provided they were professional and stayed in separate quarters. Although on paper, they were following the rules, everyone on the ship knew that it was just a pretense to make sure the Captain's bosses were happy.

Once Sam had gotten there, she quickly got to work. Opening her file named '4-TAR-H,' Sam quickly and effectively compared the machine to the schematics she'd swiped from Kodos on Tarsus IV the day before the massacre at the square. Despite her hope that she'd never see the abomination again, Sam knew before she'd even started, that this was the machine.

The machine Governor Kodos had used to mutate the crops and destroy the ecosystem on Tarsus IV.


	2. Is that you?

Standard disclaimers apply

* * *

Jim and Sam had always hoped that their past wouldn't come back to haunt them. Yet, as Sam glanced at her twin and co-leader of their group on Tarsus IV, she knew that Jim knew. He knew that the past had come to haunt them.

Sam, knowing she needed to stem off the crisis about to occur, touched her bond-mate; through their bond, she was able to tell Spock of the turmoil she knew her brother was experiencing. Spock, although curious about how this antiquated machine could cause such shock to his brother-in-law and his own mate, kept his intrigue to himself. After all, he needed to remove Jim from the situation before things turned ugly.

"Jim," the shell-shocked, pale Captain turned to his First Officer as if in a trance, "we are needed on the bridge." Sam cringed; that was the last place Jim needed to be in right now; being in command would push Jim even further into his J.T. mode.

Sam saw the signs, even if Jim tried to hide it. After all, she herself was slipping into her S.A. mode. Mentally, Sam was already calculating how to re-wire the genetic mutation machine, or EMM (Ecological Mutagenic Machine) for short, to make it inert, as she'd done on Tarsus. If she hadn't taken that risk, three times, there wouldn't have been as many survivors as there had been when Starfleet arrived.

After all, the machine had been mutating the colonists as well as the food.

* * *

_Bridge of the Enterprise, three hours after the discovery . . . _

Uhura, Chekov, Sulu and Spock were all confused at their Captain's behavior. Ever since the discovery of what Sam Kirk had identified as an EMM (which none of them, besides Spock, had a clue what it stood for), Jim had been acting like they were on high alert: tense, eyes scanning everything, and fully aware of his surroundings. It was like he was expecting an attack at any time; which made no sense because they were in neutral territory.

Everyone on the bridge was almost as tense as the Captain, noted Uhura at her communication post. She hadn't even realized how Kirk's carefree attitude had loosened everyone on the bridge during their down-time between attacks.

Chekov was confused, to say the least. The Captain was not supposed to be nervous; everything was running perfect and smooth. There had been zero attacks within the last three hour journey to the closest Starfleet base.

"Captain," announced Sulu, "we are docking at the Star Base 40 in twenty minutes." Kirk nodded before saying in a voice dripping with authority:

"Patch me through to the highest commanding officer on the base, Uhura. I will take the call in my office." This stunned the crew; Kirk wasn't known for keeping secrets from his crew.

"Sir?" questioned Uhura; this behavior was confusing her!

"That's an order, Uhura." Kirk softened at her confusion, and explained: "The existence of the EMM is classified information, Lieutenant. I shouldn't even speak of it with any officer lower than an Admiral, but all Captains are under orders that if they locate any machine that they suspect is an EMM, they are to bring it to a base and speak to the highest ranking officer of the base immediately."

"I understand, Captain." As Uhura patched Jim through to his office, Spock pulled the Captain aside, asking in a whisper of concern:

"Captain; if this EMM device is so deadly, why did you have Engineer Kirk examine it?" Frowning, Jim explained to Spock in a whisper:

"She is the person with the original schematics; she has been given authorization by Starfleet to examine any devise suspected of being an EMM." Shock permeated Spock's mind; how had his bond-mate been the source of such dangerous information?

Spock, like many of the science officers, knew exactly what the Captain had been referring to when he mentioned the EMM. Its' ability to mutate ecosystems through altering the DNA structure of plants was the stuff of legends. However, despite their fascination with its' scientific capabilities, they all knew that the Ecological Mutagenic Machine was the root of one of the largest tragedies of the 23rd century. This tragedy was taught in every ethics class at the Academy; one that Spock suddenly recalled both Kirks had been exempted from, despite the protests of their peers.

"Look, Spock," explained Kirk, "By sheer luck, the base has Admiral Pike aboard today for an inspection. If you want to understand how she has the schematics, you'll have to ask her." Too stunned by the sudden revelation to respond, Spock simply gave a curt nod before the Captain spoke with Admiral Pike in this office.

* * *

_In Captain Kirk's office . . . _

"I was hoping you'd have better news for me, Jim. You know that the Admirals back on Earth have been itching for a chance to force you off the Enterprise, right?" Eyes steely at the very true statement, Kirk nodded before adding:

"Sam and I have a plan that will keep them off our backs till we can remove the EMM from our ship and into the proper authorities in Starfleet." Brow raised, Pike waited as Jim explained, "She and I agree that Spock is too close to the issue to be unbiased about the situation, which is why I will have Scotty take the role of Captain till we have dealt with the entire mess." Pike, impressed by the maturity Jim was showing, said:

"That's not like you at all, Captain. Why would you willingly give control over to Scotty? And at such a crucial time?" As soon as Pike had finished the question, Pike was further astounded to see a face on Jim he hadn't seen since he'd rescued the Kirk twins from Tarsus IV. Stunned, Pike could only whisper, amazed:

"J.T.?" Jim merely nodded in response to the question. "I'm amazed, Jim. All this time . . . no wonder you took the command track." A look passed between the two men, not of subordinate and commander, but of equals. For Jim was Pike's equal in his authority over men. The only difference is Jim had led his group by fighting for their lives; Pike had led his ship by giving them a fighting chance.

"So; I assume Sam is S.A.?" As Kirk nodded, Pike swore:

"Damn; no wonder she's an engineering genius. She practically saved that planet three times!" After they'd recalled a bit more of the old times, Pike agreed to the change in command; however, it came at a cost.

Both Kirks had to tell the Senior Command of the _Enterprise_ the reason for the switch.


	3. Explanation

Standard disclaimers apply

* * *

_Meeting of the Senior Crew of the Enterprise . . . _

Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, Spock, Scotty, and McCoy all sat in the conference room of the Enterprise in a stupor. Had their Captain, the one who loved the _Enterprise's_ crew like his own family, really say that? And why the hell was Engineer Kirk here anyway?

"Jim," began McCoy, "why the hell are you handing over control to Scotty? Isn't Spock the next in the chain of command?" Clearing his throat, Kirk explained:

"That is why Sam is here; she is as involved in the situation as I am." Nodding in a clear indication to continue, Jim said:

"Bones; this is a part of our lives that we never wanted to face again. I mean, who would want to remember starvation, terror, and such a deep self-loathing that you wish you could disappear?" Uhura, stunned that the Captain was showing such _depth_, asked:

"What happened to you both, Captain? What is it about this EMM that has you both so terrified?" Jim, nodding to his sister, stood back as Sam took over the explanation.

"The EMM, short for the Ecological Mutagenic Machine, is a piece of technology we are well acquainted with. After all, I was the person that gave Starfleet the original schematics." As the senior crew tried to recall where they'd heard of that devise before, Chekov was the first to realize its' significance.

"That is the machine that caused the genocide on . . ."

"Tarsus IV," Sam nodded as she responded to Chekov's alarm. Panic appeared on McCoy's face; why hadn't he ever heard of this?!

"You both have a lot of explaining to do! How the hell could both of you never tell me that you were both part of that hellhole?!" Surprisingly, Jim interrupted, saying:

"Bones; we couldn't tell you even if we wanted to. Starfleet had forbidden us from informing anyone due to what we did on Tarsus IV. Its' what exempted us from the Ethics class and what kept us from telling any of you." Spock, concerned for his brother-in-law and bond-mate, asked:

"Did any of these roles endanger either of you?" Suddenly, surprising everyone, Jim and Sam broke out in laughter that bordered on hysteria.

"Spock," answered Sam after she'd calmed down, "our very existence on Tarsus IV endangered us. Even if we'd only been trying to survive, we would not have been safe." Uhura, frustrated and curious at how they could be so instrumental during Tarsus IV, asked:

"What did you both do that was so important?" Suddenly, like they'd exchanged an unspoken conversation, Sam stepped back and Jim took over the narrative. As Jim told the back-story of J.T. and S.A., the legendary leader and engineer that had done what adults twice their age had refused to do, their closest colleagues respect for them skyrocketed beyond the stars. Spock, although he understood the facts of the story well enough, still found it hard to believe that the adults of Tarsus IV could be so illogical as to allow a pair of 14 year old fraternal twins to save them.

"Spock," Sam spoke as Jim finished the story, "I know that look. You think that our actions were illogical and reckless. Although I agree about the reckless part, I cannot in good conscious call our actions illogical." Seeing Spock was about to interrupt, Sam held up a hand and continued:

"You must understand that we'd been under a state of duress in the colony for three months before the massacre had even taken place. The so-called adults of the colony were desperate for answers." Sighing in frustration, Jim continued, saying:

"By the time the massacre had occurred, Kodos already had about 3/4ths of the adults under the false assumption that his way was the only way. Never mind that the majority of the 4000 people killed were children and the elderly. When you've been eating rations for three months that wouldn't sustain an officer three hours . . . well, your sense of right and wrong becomes skewed to 'how can I survive?' " Spock nodded in understanding; after all, logic required serenity and if that serenity was lost, instincts kicked in quicker and sooner.

Almost like a silent agreement had gone through, Scotty told everyone to head back to their stations, as they had work to do to prep for the retrieval, and disposal, of the EMM by Starfleet.


End file.
